ThomasProbert

Once the bulkheads were done I could start adding details. Unfortunately this would all have to be done from scratch as there is no interior supplied with the kit. With builds such as these you have to have references galore, and after careful studying of them I began work. The forward area of the flight deck is very visible through all that glazing so I had to add every detail: These details were all made from Evergreen strip, plastic card, bits and bobs from the spares box and Milliput. It takes many hours, but it is most satisfying! The rear crew area would not be as visible as the big blisters distort everything, so I just covered the basics here: The crew tunnel was made from plastic piping of the correct diameter and detailed with Evergreen strip. This also had the advantage of being nice and strong and holding everything together: The tail gunner's windows were then removed and the interior detailed also: Not every detail is perfect or 100% accurate, but it looks ok and you have to draw the line somewhere...

As with any vacform build, the first task is remove the parts from the backing sheet. I simply score around the part, break it free from the surrounding plastic and then sand off any excess until the parts are the correct depth. Here is the fuselage after this process; the rudder was removed as I would be scratch-building my own at a later stage (yes the ruler is 12"/30cm!): And alongside its smaller Monogram cousin: The next task was to remove the glazed areas. I did intend to use the new transparencies I had from John, but was nervous about getting a decent join to the fuselage. Also, B-29s had flat window panels and the kit part was curved, so instead I decided to cut out each window individually, add some framing and then drop in clear acetate panels at the end of the build. Initially I drew each window on following some plans, drilled the corners and cut each one out: As careful as I was, this left some unevenness so I added a frame from Evergreen strip - this had the bonus of adding the curved corners to each window: When the process was finished (which took close to a week) the result was pleasing; I then removed the bomb-bay doors (as I planned to display them open) the nose wheel bay doors and rear blisters: It was then time to begin some work on the internals - first up was the main bulkheads: For these I used 2mm plastic card as it is very strong and adds considerable strength to a build such as this.

So this is what you start with... not much apart from some very accurate shapes to use as your canvass. The 'small' parts are the Monogram 1/48th scale B-29 which I used as a guide throughout the construction process: My kit was an unwanted part of someone's stash and was devoid of tail feathers, so some spare Combat Models B-17 stabilisers stood in nicely: Cowlings were basic but perfectly workable: My transparencies were also missing so I got in touch with John 'Tigger' Wilkes and he molded me a new set: And that's it! No interior, landing gear, engines, props... but that's where the fun in a build such as this is... improvisation, overcoming problems and a fair bit of head scratching! Decals are also non-existent so that was another headache!

I've been a 'lurker' on this site for a while, and have finally decided to take the plunge and join the forums. This is a project I have been working on for close to a year now - it's the old ID Models (now Tigger) 1/32nd scale Boeing B-29 Superfortress in glorious 1/32nd scale. I am an experienced vacform builder (in fact I don't build much else besides) and have built quite a few challenging vacs over the years. I have battled with Combat Models' 1/32nd scale B-17 and B-24, as well as the ID Models' 1/32nd Lancaster which I built as a tribute to my great uncle who was killed in this aircraft in 1944: (I wonder if HK Models will release on of these...? ) After having the opportunity of getting inside the CAF's "Fifi" at the Thunder Over Michigan Airshow in 2012, I decided that was the inspiration I needed to get cracking on what is a monster of a kit: I had been mulling over a choice of colour scheme in which to finish this build, and in the end settled on the "Kee Bird", made famous by the failed recovery attempt from the Greenland ice by Darryl Greenmayer and his team in 1994. Anyone who has seen 'B-29 - Frozen in Time' will know how heart-wrenching this story is, and I just couldn't resist doing my own small tribute to such a wonderful plane. The colour scheme isn't bad too! (pictures used for illustrative purposes only) As I'm well into this build, I will post my work retrospectively, and show you the work needed to build a kit such as this. Sadly, vacform modelling seems to be a dying art, but I'm hoping to inspire a few of you on here to give one a go! They're really not that hard, but be prepared to do a fair bit of scratch building along the way... Stand by for further updates Tom